Serving a large volume of small business customers can create a demanding accounts receivable environment. Finance teams must manage hundreds or even thousands of invoices, track diverse payment behaviors, reconcile incomplete remittance information, and maintain healthy cash flow without overwhelming staff resources.
During the Controllers Council and BILL webinar, AR Tips and Tricks for Accounting Departments Serving Small Businesses, finance leaders Philip Peck, VP Finance Transformation at Peloton Consulting Group, Thomas Dominique, CFO/COO at Battles Transportation and RHG Group, and Hugh Glazer, CFO and Consultant at WinterView Group, shared practical recommendations for improving receivables management while balancing customer relationships and operational realities.
The discussion covered automation, key performance indicators, collection strategies, and the unique challenges organizations face when serving large numbers of smaller customers.
Automation Continues to Expand, but Human Judgment Remains Essential
One of the first topics addressed was the growing role of automation and artificial intelligence in receivables operations. While many organizations have adopted software tools to streamline portions of the process, the panel agreed that complete automation remains uncommon.
Hugh Glazer noted that technology can provide valuable visibility and accountability throughout the collection cycle. “There’s tools to alert what should be followed up on, what happened last action, next action, who did it, when to do it next.”
At the same time, Glazer emphasized that receivables management still requires oversight and decision-making. “This is something that can’t be a hundred or shouldn’t be a hundred percent automated without some human review.”
Philip Peck observed that many organizations are moving beyond traditional automation and evaluating where AI can provide additional value. “They’re increasingly looking for not just automation opportunities, but where can they look for, from a use case perspective, opportunities to infuse some level of AI capabilities?”
Among the areas where companies are seeing progress are invoice generation, cash application, collections prioritization, account reconciliations, forecasting, and reporting.
Cash Application and Collections Offer Strong Opportunities for Improvement
For many finance teams, matching payments to invoices remains one of the most labor-intensive aspects of receivables management. Peck highlighted cash application as an area where automation can produce meaningful gains. “We’ve seen is using AI to help with the cash matching and even some automated remittance capture there.”
Collections also represent a significant opportunity. Rather than applying the same effort across every account, organizations can use technology to identify where attention is most urgently needed.
Peck explained: “Leverage AI to focus on the most critical things. “By analyzing payment history, delinquency patterns, customer behavior, and other variables, finance teams can direct resources toward higher-risk accounts while reducing time spent on lower-priority activities.
Visibility Into Cash Remains a Core Responsibility
Although automation received considerable attention during the discussion, the panel repeatedly returned to a more fundamental objective: maintaining a clear understanding of cash flow.
Glazer stressed the importance of monitoring liquidity and understanding how receivables affect overall financial performance. “I’m a big advocate of people having strong control and understanding of their cash flow.”
He also emphasized the value of regular cash forecasting. “I’m the person that does the thirteen-week cash flow and make sure it’s reflecting everything that might come up.”
This level of visibility allows finance leaders to identify potential shortfalls early, evaluate customer payment trends, and make better-informed operational decisions.
Metrics Matter, but Context Matters Too
When discussing key AR metrics, the panel identified several commonly used measurements, including accounts receivable aging, Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), delinquency rates, collection effectiveness, and invoice cycle times.
Thomas Dominique encouraged organizations to monitor these indicators frequently rather than waiting for month-end reporting. “You should be running these metrics almost daily and looking at your KPIs.”
At the same time, he cautioned that metrics should not be interpreted in isolation. Payment delays can occur for many reasons, particularly when dealing with government entities, nonprofits, or organizations experiencing internal transitions.
“Just because somebody’s paying late doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re a bad client.” Dominique emphasized the importance of combining quantitative analysis with an understanding of each customer’s circumstances, contractual obligations, and payment history.
Small Business Customers Present Unique Challenges
Serving large numbers of smaller customers often introduces additional complexity. According to the panelists, common obstacles include inconsistent payment practices, staff turnover on the customer side, fragmented systems, missing remittance information, and billing disputes.
Peck pointed to volume itself as a significant challenge. “The number one challenge is just the sheer volume.”
Managing hundreds of low-dollar transactions can consume substantial staff time and make prioritization difficult without supporting technology.
Dominique highlighted another common issue: changes within a customer’s finance department. New personnel often inherit existing vendor relationships without fully understanding prior agreements, pricing structures, or payment expectations. This can slow collections and create unnecessary disputes. As a result, strong documentation and clear communication become increasingly important.
Practical Ways to Improve AR Performance
During the closing portion of the webinar, the panelists shared several practical recommendations that finance leaders can apply immediately.
Know Your Customer Before Problems Arise
Dominique encouraged organizations to gather as much information as possible during customer onboarding. “Know your client before you start to engage.”
Establishing the correct billing contacts, understanding approval workflows, documenting payment requirements, and evaluating creditworthiness can prevent many collection issues later.
Build Communication Into the Process
Glazer stressed the importance of proactive communication. “It’s all really about information.”
Organizations should document who approves invoices, who processes payments, who should receive reminders, and who can help resolve disputes when issues arise. Regular communication can often prevent delays before they become collection problems.
Make It Easy for Customers to Pay
Peck recommended removing friction from the payment process wherever possible. “Easy payment, easier payment, faster cash.”
Offering convenient payment methods and reducing unnecessary complexity can improve collection performance without increasing collection efforts.
Focus Human Effort on Exceptions
Perhaps the most concise recommendation came from Peck’s closing advice: “Automate the 88% where you can and focus human on exceptions.” By allowing technology to handle routine transactions, finance professionals can devote more attention to customer relationships, dispute resolution, analysis, and decision-making.
The Future of AR Is More Productive, Not Less Human
The webinar concluded with a discussion about whether AI and automation will eliminate accounting jobs. The panel’s consensus was clear: technology will reshape responsibilities, but human expertise remains essential. Peck summarized the issue succinctly: “AI replaces tasks, not jobs.”
As receivables technology continues to advance, finance teams will likely spend less time processing transactions and more time analyzing results, managing risk, and supporting business decisions.
For organizations serving large numbers of small business customers, that shift may prove especially valuable. Greater visibility, stronger processes, and thoughtful use of automation can improve cash flow while allowing finance professionals to focus their attention where it creates the greatest return.
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